Writer and collector. Youngest son of Sir Robert Walpole. His gothic novel "The Castle of Otranto"' was published in 1764. But his passion was his gothic creation, his house at Strawberry Hill, which is open to the public and well worth a visit.
His parents separated before his birth and he was brought up in Arlington Street by his much loved mother. Weak and effeminate he became an MP and used politics as an easy way to fund his life of leisure. This involved friendships with many other young men with similar aesthetic interests. His relationship with Thomas Gray was particularly jealous and difficult. He never married but did invent the word 'serendipity'.
This section lists the memorials where the subject on this page is commemorated:
Horatio ('Horace') Walpole, 4th Earl of Orford
Commemorated ati
George Pub
The George The George was founded in 1723 as a coffee house, became Georges ...
Robert & Horace Walpole
Greater London Council Sir Robert Walpole, 1676 - 1745, Prime Minister, and ...
This section lists the memorials created by the subject on this page:
Horatio ('Horace') Walpole, 4th Earl of Orford
Creations i
King of Corsica
The weather-worn stone above this plaque is, we guess, the original graveston...
Other Subjects
Kit-Cat Club
18th century London club with political (Whig) and literary interests. Tending to the clandestine it met, at different periods, at the Trumpet Tavern, the Fountain Tavern and at Barn Elms. In sum...
Group, Community / Clubs, Literature, Politics & Administration
George Lillie Craik
Born Kennoway, Fife. Literary scholar and writer. Created professor of English literature and history at Queen’s College, Belfast in 1849. Buried at Holywood, near Belfast, Northern Ireland.
Henry Fielding
Novelist, playwright. Born Somerset. Half-brother to Sir John Fielding. Lived in Bow Street and Essex Street. Play: The Miser. Novels: Joseph Andrews, Tom Jones. As magistrate he carried out a numb...
Francois Rabelais
Writer and physician. Born France, between 1483 and 1494, but probably November 1494. Became a monk and studied Latin and Greek, then left to study medicine. Died Paris.
Person, Literature, Medicine, Politics & Administration, Religion, France
Samuel Beckett
Dramatist and author. Born Dublin as Samuel Barclay Beckett. Lived in Paris most of his life. His plays include: Waiting for Godot (1953) and Krapp's Last Tape (1958). Awarded the Nobel Prize in Li...